Writing as one with an Achilles tendon injury, I would be very surprised to see David Beckham making a professional full recovery at his age, however talented his orthopedic surgeon. I wish him well of course but as one gets older, it's an injury that steadily degrades one's ability to run and if one does, then painful inflammation follows. Once upon a time, running marathons was a big part of my own life but with a damaged Achilles, jogging a mile without pain is a result I find.I had a curious and mildly unsettling experience on the train to London this morning, passing Whitstable. On what seems like the first day of spring and in the first carriage of the train, I saw a young and brilliantly coloured Pheasant flying on a course perpendicular to my own. At the last second, the bird...

To all my readers trying to get their bearings in the matter of Australia's vice-captain Michael Clarke absenting himself from a one-day series in New Zealand to be with his fiancée Lara Bingle, I commend this piece by my friend Gideon Haigh:Now it was the cricket media's turn to scoff. Support? Surely Clarke should be demonstrating that he was the stuff of a future captain by ditching his fiancee immediately in favour of resuming that terribly important one-day series whose results will be forgotten next week. Former players such as Ian Chappell and Michael Slater argued that being Australian vice-captain came prior to any relationship, both speaking with the experience of first marriages that did not survive their cricket careers.I draw the column to their attention even in the case...

David Beckham arrives in Finland for surgery on his Achilles tendon, which looks set to rule him out of the World...

England and Wales' Euro 2012 qualifying fixtures will be decided by a random draw after the nations in Group G fail to agree on acceptable...

Wash & Go commercials have long been a source of parody… and now, the bonce product is celebrating 21 years with Jimmy Bullard’s wavy locks and slightly cherubist face (you’ve seen ‘Mask’ with Cher right?). Anyway, Jimmy was apparently chosen for the campaign because of his “comedic potential”. That’s just a kind way of saying he’s a bit ugly. Of course, all footballers are preening idiots… but so our Jim. No, if you want to see what he normally gets up to in the changing rooms (don’t worry, this is not some link to a poor lass from the pie-stand getting ‘roasted’), then click this...

…a tear. A bit back it was announced that Wes Brown would only be out for a few weeks with his broken foot and I asked why England couldn’t catch a break and the dopey fullback that Fabio loves so much couldn’t be out until it was impossible for him to make the World Cup. So it was with a cheer I heard last night that David Beckham will be missing out on his automatic squad place for what would have been his fourth World Cup. Click here to view the embedded video. What with Lennon’s on going injury concerns making his involvement look less and less likely and Fabio’s apparent obsession with fielding those players that have failed miserably at the last three tournaments they got to, failing even more miserably to even get to the last one. There had to be some...

Fabio Capello was always going to have a challenging decision to make about David Beckham.  After an up and down season with the LA Galaxy and a more down than up loan stint with AC Milan, Beckham was hoping that his experience and dressing room leadership would allow him to join the England team in South Africa.  With his opportunity to play this summer ruptured along with his Achilles tendon, Beckham has a more dramatic question to face – does he ever suit up in a professional soccer uniform again? Achilles tendon injuries are among the most difficult wounds from which a player can recover.  The tendon needs to be surgically reattached and it is usually six weeks before the heel can be allowed to bear any weight.  Occasionally, an elite athlete can return to full training after...

An excellent post by a barrister who looks  in detail at specific legal cases and concludes that strict liability would help The Cycling Lawyer: Cycling against the car culture.The heavier and faster the vehicle you chose to control, the more danger you present to others.  A recognition that this imposes a correspondingly greater duty and, in the event of accident, comes with a burden of proof may constitute one small step towards the shift in culture required...

…offence? Two seasons ago losing to the Jocks resulted in then England head coach Andy Robinson losing his job, and quite right too. So shouldn’t only managing to draw against a Jock side coached by Andy Robinson result in sackings? The old adage rings true, just because you are a great player doesn’t make you a great coach. The more this England side go on like this and the more Martin Johnson tries to talk them up after such performances the more he sullies the memory of him just over six years ago lifting a certain trophy. It’s not working, no one can say it is with a straight face, all the talk of a team in transition is meaningless as there is no forward movement they are just getting worse and worse and so much of it can be laid squarely at the door of the...

• England 599-6 dec & 209-7 dec; Bangladesh 296 & 191-5Fakes are ten a taka in Chittagong. Look to the left and Hugo Boss have supposedly developed a new line in wastebins. To the right, if you believe the sign, you can shop for Ikea furniture and it will take you no more than a few seconds to walk around the store.It should be no surprise therefore that Test matches involving Bangladesh are often derided as fake. It might say on the ICC label that it is a Test, but the quality is dubious. England can wear their victory, but they will not be allowed to wear it with pride. People will be queueing up to tell them that it is not the real thing.Well, perhaps it is the real thing. Not the Ashes, admittedly, but perhaps genuine enough. Anybody glancing at their fake Rolexes through their fake...

Tourism bosses in Slovenia are offering English tourists a free holiday -- if they win the World Cup and not us.The promotion will see anyone booking a break to Slovenia over get money back if their football team do well in South Africa.If Slovenia reach the semi-finals you get 50 percent of your money back for any holiday booked between March 10th and June 10th.There's also a slightly more realistic 25 percent return if they get to the quarter finals. But with Slovenia in the same group as England, Algeria and the USA, how well do you want them to do… and why do you want to got to Slovenia anyway? LINKSSlovenia World Cup Offer  ...

• Club statement says former manager 'on gardening leave'• Brian Horton and Steve Parkin to take charge of first teamPhil Brown has been "relieved of his managerial duties" at Hull City.Hull, who lost to a late Nicklas Bendtner goal at home to Arsenal on Saturday, are 19th in the Premier League, three points away from safety.A statement on the club website, by Adam Pearson, the club's chairman, read: "Hull City AFC confirms that Phil Brown has been relieved of his managerial duties at the club and has been placed on gardening leave with immediate effect. Brian Horton and Steve Parkin will take charge of first-team duties until further notice."We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Phil for the major success achieved during a period of four seasons in charge at the club...

The weekend’s football panned out pretty much as expected with West Ham and Fulham capitulating on their respective visits to Chelsea and Manchester United. The upcoming weekend could see Arsenal return to the top of the table with our nearest rivals playing on Sunday. Whilst United appear to have the trickier match of the two, I do not expect anything from Liverpool, no matter how much they may wish to win the match. Quite simply, they are not good enough. And yes, I am really hoping that I have to eat those words. Andrey Arshavin is rapidly becoming a surreal footballing experience; sublime on the pitch and frankly talking as if he has dropped a tab of acid off it. The latest ‘gem’ from his website concerned the visit to Hull: Unfortunately, we missed a penalty kick....

I’ve always had a soft spot for Gareth Bale. From his time at Southampton where he made quite an impression in the Championship, to his signing by Tottenham Hotspur, where he played brilliantly in his debut season and was explosive down the left wing. Plus whenever he had a chance to take free kicks for Spurs, they often found their way into the back of the net. But then his career hit a brick wall precisely when Harry Redknapp took charge at White Hart Lane. Bale was played out of position as left back instead of left winger. Then he was demoted to the substitute’s bench. But even when he did play, he was constantly reminded of the cross he bore. Whenever Bale started, Tottenham had never won a league match in the Premier League. While Bale’s form for Tottenham...

Spurned midfielder’s revenge on Jose Mourinho? Inter Milan’s Sulley Muntari hit back at his manager’s decision to make him play just 10 minutes of their game against Catania – by taking just 85 seconds to get sent off! Well, that’s the only explanation I can find. It’s either that or he has to go down as one [...]...

1. Last minute winners from Nicklas Bendtner now? A Sun-style apology might be due from OTP soon. 2. Craig Gordon is the unluckiest player of the weekend. His excellent performance deserved to win all three points for Sunderland against Manchester City. 3. George Boateng has been watching too much Six Nations action (see video above). 4. And [...]...

David Beckham's dream of playing in a fourth World Cup with England looks over after he tears an Achilles...

As everyone who isn't living in a cave is aware, David Beckham has been on loan to AC Milan in a bid to improve his chances of making the World Cup this summer. That dream has now ended after Beckham tore his Achilles tendon during yesterdays match with Chievo.I do feel sorry for Beckham but the thing is, if I were Capello I probably would not have taken David Beckham to the World Cup anyway, and thus Fabio Capello and more importantly the England Team can be spared a media backlash from Beckhams absence in South Africa.There is a good argument that Beckham would be an impact player, who could come from the bench and deliver a vital free kick or corner in the dying minutes of a game that could further our progress. But I would say that any player who is not in consideration of 90 minutes...

The three contenders for the Premier League title got through the weekend unscathed while Spurs find themselves two points clear in the race for fourth after Manchester City got (only) a miraculous draw at Sunderland. On this edition of the EPL Talk podcast, Kartik Krishnaiyer, Laurence McKenna and myself review the weekend’s matches as well as look forward to this week’s Champions League action as well as ponder the future of David Beckham, who suffered an achilles injury this weekend in Italy. Related posts:Weekend Review Show: EPL Talk Podcast EPL Talk Podcast: Weekend Review Show EPL Talk Review Show – FA Cup Weekend Edition...

• Spaniard leads Felipe Massa in team 1-2 on debut• Sebastian Vettel loses out to exhaust problemA sweeping one-two victory for the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in the Bahrain grand prix could not obscure the overall dullness of a contest in which, for the first time since 1993, the drivers were not allowed to refuel their cars. A processional race was brought to life only when the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel, a convincing leader for the first hour, developed an exhaust problem which reduced the power from his engine, allowing the Italian cars to pass and relegating the young German driver to an eventual fourth place behind the McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.Even the new lightning-fast pit stops to change tyres failed to add to the excitement, partly...

• David Beckham ruptures achilles tendon• England midfielder's career in doubtDavid Beckham's hopes of extending his England career into a fourth World Cup finals are in tatters after the veteran midfielder ruptured an achilles tendon in Milan's 1-0 Serie A victory over Chievo last night, an injury that will rule him out for the season and could curtail his illustrious 18-year career.The 34-year-old pulled up in the centre circle under no pressure from an opposing player with two minutes of the match remaining in San Siro and, after hopping from the pitch in obvious pain on his healthy right leg, collapsed on the sidelines. He was treated for about five minutes on the touchline before eventually being carried from the arena face down on a stretcher in tears, mouthing, "It's broken,...

One of the advantages of Premier League clubs being more desperate for points at this stage of the season is that it means that we get to see more open matches. It also creates more end-to-end action. This past weekend was a perfect example of this. I had the chance to watch Spurs against Blackburn, Birmingham against Everton, Hull City versus Arsenal and Sunderland against Manchester City. And except for the Tottenham match which was too one-sided in favor of Spurs, each of the other games I watched was brilliant. There were so many wonderful moments to choose from. Adam Johnson’s moment of brilliance when he curled the ball into the top corner of the net. The way Kenwyne Jones leapt to meet the cross and glanced the ball into the back of the net. Gareth Bale and the way he made...

David Beckham injured in...

A superb final-round 66 from South Africa's Ernie Els saw off the challenge of Charl Schwartzel to secure the WGC-CA Championship...

• Capello offers condolences to Beckham• Milan coach Leonardo confirms injury is seriousFabio Capello has spoken with David Beckham to commiserate over the injury that will rule the former England skipper out of this summer's World Cup.Beckham suffered a major Achilles injury during AC Milan's Serie A encounter with Chievo this evening, ending his hopes of featuring in a fourth World Cup for his country in South Africa this summer.Both Capello and his assistant Franco Baldini were on the phone to offer their best wishes for Beckham to ultimately make a full recovery, knowing they could write the 34-year-old out of their own plans for South Africa.Beckham sustained the injury without coming into contact with anyone else, limping to the sidelines for treatment in a match Milan went on...

Not unless you think Crocs, an anorak and a cowboy shirt is a good lookI am angry. Fashion angry! There is a policy in my workplace that I feel is reverse discrimination. Although all staff are asked to dress smartly, only men are asked to wear a collar. I have smart jumpers and T-shirts that I feel would be suitable, but the company disagrees. The office womenfolk on the other hand can wear what they like, and I see everything from Topshop floral dresses to H&M; vest tops to knock-off Chanel suits. Why can this fashion liberty not be extended to the less fair sex?Name withheld by editorial decisionNow, before we deal with the anger – fashion anger – I think we have to deal with the interesting story behind this letter. For this is not just any letter, readers – it's not even...

Adam Johnson loomed high on Steve Bruce's January shopping list but once Roberto Mancini registered an interest in the then Middlesbrough winger, Sunderland's outbid manager had no option but to concede defeat.That was what Mancini's City were heading for on Wearside until Johnson, a late substitute, curled in a sublime stoppage-time equaliser to secure a potentially vital point in his side's pursuit of fourth place."It's going to be very tight but I think we have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League," said a previously agitated Mancini, his sanity quite possibly preserved by the Sunderland-born Johnson's 11th-hour intervention.Earlier City's manager had pressed almost every conceivable tactical button, repeatedly reconfiguring his side as Bruce's newly renascent team...

Another victim of disabled hate crime has made the national news, though as with Fiona Pilkington it only happened after he died. 64-year-old David Askew collapsed and died while being abused by youths in Hattersley, Greater Manchester.Neighbours claim that Askew and his family were harassed every night for ten years.Tom Shakespeare, a research fellow at the Institute for Policy and Practice, Newcastle University, has written a Guardian column on the abuse that disabled people like himself and Askew face on a daily basis.David Askew's tragedy follows the deaths of Raymond Atherton, Rikki Judkins, Steven Hoskin, Barrie-John Horrell, Kevin Davies, Fiona Pilkington, Christine Lakinski and Christopher Foulkes over the last few years. Each of these individuals was targeted because they were...

• Rhone Group bids for 40% stake in Liverpool• Under-pressure owners may be forced to acceptLiverpool are in talks with a private-equity firm, the Rhone Group, over a £118.5m deal to buy a controlling share of the club and halve their debts.It is understood the investment group wants a 40% stake at Anfield, which would considerably strengthen the club's financial position.The Rhone Group's bid would give it the controlling interest, with the current joint-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett reducing their shareholdings to 30% apiece.Hicks and Gillett were last year told to cut £100m from the club's £237m debts. The Royal Bank of Scotland gave the club a deadline of this summer to pay up.The club's chief executive, Christian Purslow, has been working to find investors and says he...

Fernando Alonso led home a Ferrari one-two in the opening grand prix of the 2010 season in Bahrain...